Socially Distant but Better Connected
Dynamic and impossible to predict, the pandemic has caused extraordinary disruption across all industries and throughout many organisations’ ecosystems. Within just a few weeks, businesses have had to change the way they operate in an unprecedented manner. If we were sleepwalking towards inevitable large-scale digital transformation before, we’ve now been abruptly propelled into a world of virtual connectedness. With this ‘new normal’ on a seemingly unstoppable trajectory throughout COVID-19 and beyond, marketing managers and directors need to show agility and pivot quickly in order to develop resilience. Marketing plans need to be adjusted, and online events need to be exploited to nurture and build business relationships.
It’s these online events that are key to adapting to survive the lasting changes of the pandemic. With a recent report suggesting that 85% of leaders and executives identified in-person events as critical for their company’s success, it’s clear that events play an integral role for many organisations’ marketing strategies. But what about when physical events aren’t possible? And when they are possible, will the pandemic reduce our comfort for physical interactions?
To mitigate this risk, heads of marketing now face the challenge of moving to online solutions to meet their brand and lead generation objectives. While it may be new territory for some, those that do invest in virtual conferences, webinars and digital events now stand to gain a significant advantage over those that don’t. Creating webinars and other well-optimised digital events can lead to:
- Positioning your people/brand as thought leaders
- Generation of valuable leads
- Increased awareness of your products/services
- Building and nurturing relationships with your customers
- Driving valuable traffic to your website
Benefits of Online Events Beyond the Here and Now
With remote working now a near necessity, online webinars and virtual conferences have replaced in-person meetings, and aside from these obvious benefits, there are some other key advantages to leveraging these tools to build resilience beyond the current crisis.
Longevity
Physical events may not be an option, but the appetite for information sharing and knowledge exchange remains – and always will. Online event content can far outlive the lifespan of a physical event. Access to assets and recordings can be shared on social media and other key platforms, allowing your business to drive engagement and reap the rewards of your event all year round.
Better Engagement with online events
Creating a webinar is an effective way to generate new leads and nurture existing ones; according to a survey conducted by webinar platform ON24, 30% of people are more likely to speak to a salesperson in a virtual booth. The nature of online events and the immediacy of content customisation allows organisations to control the user experience, choosing which valuable content to expose to attendees to keep them engaged.
Enhanced Access
Beyond enabling engagement for those who may not have been able to attend previous physical events, digital access opens up new markets to your event that you may not have ever considered before. The capacity for wider audience reach (including international attendees) can give your organisation and sponsors the potential of vast untapped markets.
Receive Better Insights
While collecting audience and engagement data from an in-person event is not impossible, it can be a challenge. Virtual conferences and events allow you to drill down to granular insights on the most engaged attendees and companies. Some solutions even allow facilitators to uncover the top-performing sessions by content usage. This is a valuable tool for organisers, as leveraging this data can help to inform marketing strategies and be used to optimise future events.
To be truly adaptive, the world of B2B must maintain a successful, seamless strategy that covers both the physical and digital world. At Tricycle-Europe, we help companies achieve more by combining new technology and tactics and can help to plan, produce, and execute digital events. Does your business face the challenge of moving to online events? Arrange a call with one of our expert’s and develop a digital event strategy that will immunise your business against future crises. We believe that the future will be shaped by how people use digital tools and platforms. Let us help you to build the foundation to win in the digital space.
